Heath Franklin
Encyclopedia
Career
He is most recognized for his characters from The Ronnie Johns Half HourThe Ronnie Johns Half Hour
The Ronnie Johns Half Hour is an Australian sketch comedy show produced by Jigsaw Entertainment and the Ten Network, which premiered in October 2005...
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
TV show; and for his appearances as himself on ABC TV's Spicks and Specks, Working Dog's Thank God You're Here and in New Zealand, as regular guest panellist on 7 Days.
His most famous character, Chopper, a comedic impersonation based on real life criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read
Chopper Read
Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read is an Australian ex-criminal, who wrote a series of semi-autobiographical and fictional crime novels. The 2000 film Chopper was based on his life.-Early life:...
, became a cult favorite, especially on internet sites such as YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. As of June 2009, Heath Franklin's Chopper had sold over 110,000 tickets across Australia, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and the UK.
In 2010, Franklin made his feature film debut in the crime comedy, 'Predicament', playing the role of Mervyn Toebeck, along side comedian Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...
from HBO's Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords (TV series)
Flight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement...
and musician Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
.
In 2010, Heath Franklin was nominated for an ARIA for Best Comedy Release for his DVD, 'Make Deadshits History'
Awards
In 2006, Franklin was nominated for the Inaugural Graham KennedyGraham Kennedy
Graham Cyril Kennedy, AO was an Australian radio, television and film performer, often called Gra Gra and The King of Australian television.-Childhood:...
Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for "Most Outstanding New Talent" regarding his work on The Ronnie Johns Half Hour
The Ronnie Johns Half Hour
The Ronnie Johns Half Hour is an Australian sketch comedy show produced by Jigsaw Entertainment and the Ten Network, which premiered in October 2005...
. He also performed warm-up duties for the Logies
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
.
In 2009, Chopper's Harden the Fuck Up, New Zealand! was nominated for Best Marketing and Best International Show at the 2009 NZ comedy festival
In 2009, Heath Franklin's Chopper was voted #11 favourite Australian Comedy Character, and his catchphrase, 'Harden the F*ck Up' was vote #7 of all time, as polled the TV program, The Spearman Experiment.
In 2010, Heath Franklin was nominated for an ARIA for Best Comedy Release for his DVD, 'Make Deadshits History'
He was also nominated in the category of Best International Guest at the 2010 NZ Comedy Guild Awards
Heath Franklin was awarded the 2011 FHM Magazine Comedy Hero award.
TV appearances
- The Ronnie Johns Half HourThe Ronnie Johns Half HourThe Ronnie Johns Half Hour is an Australian sketch comedy show produced by Jigsaw Entertainment and the Ten Network, which premiered in October 2005...
, (2005–06) Writer/Performer - Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
"The Christmas Panel" special (2006, as Chopper) - The Comedy Channel's Stand Up Australia (2007, as Chopper).
- Network 10's 9am with David and Kim (2008, as himself)
- The Comedy Channel's Cracker Festival Gala, (2008, as Chopper)
- ABC's Spicks and Specks (2008, two episodes, as himself)
- ABC's Spicks and Specks 'A Very Specky Christmas' 2008 Christmas special (2008, as himself).
- C4's Jono's New Show, New Zealand (2009, as Chopper)
- The Comedy Channel's Sydney Comedy Festival Gala, (2009, as Chopper)
- Channel Seven/Working Dog's Thank God You're HereThank God You're HereThank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons with Seven for the fourth season...
(2009, as himself) - Network 10/Southern Star's The Spearman Experiment (2009, as himself and as Chopper)
- Network 10/Roving Enterprises' The 7PM Project (2009, as himself)
- Network 10's 9am with David and Kim (2009, as Chopper)
- The Comedy Channel's Make Deadshits History - Pentridge Interstituals (2009, as Chopper)
- ABC's Spicks and Specks Xmas Special - A Very Specky Christmas (2009, as Chopper)
- TV3's Aotearoha-ha Christmas Comedy Gala (NZ) (2009, as Chopper)
- Review with Myles BarlowReview with Myles BarlowReview with Myles Barlow is an Australian satirical black comedy television series which screened on Thursday nights on ABC2 and Friday nights on ABC 1. The series began screening on 16 October 2008. It is co-written and directed by Trent O'Donnell and also co-written by Phil Lloyd. It is...
(2010, as Himself/Chopper) - The Comedy Channel's Sydney Comedy Festival Cracker Gala (2010, as Chopper)
- TV3's New Zealand Comedy Festival Gala (2010 and 2011, as Chopper)
- TV3's 7Days (NZ) (2009–11, 8 episodes as Chopper)
Film appearances
- Predicament (dir. Jason Stutter), as Mervyn Toebuck (2010)